


Speak Softly Love

by BDEblueyes



Series: The Nerd Herd Cinematic Universe [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 02:07:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30031392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BDEblueyes/pseuds/BDEblueyes
Summary: “Look, the only rules we have are that the total runtime of the movies can’t be more than 10 hours, and that the person whose turn it is to pick gets the final say,” the blond snapped. “This is under the runtime limit, and it’s my turn to pick. So unless you have a real, valid objection, you’re just gonna have to go with it.”
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto
Series: The Nerd Herd Cinematic Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2209239
Comments: 8
Kudos: 12





	Speak Softly Love

**Author's Note:**

> thanks as always to the incomparable [SerenaJones](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenaJones) for the beta

The entire insufferable nerd herd had, once again, descended on Kaiba Manor for their semi-regular movie marathon. The tradition had started the previous September, entirely by accident, when they’d all gone to Yugi’s and marathoned the Evil Dead franchise. It was a surprise for Ryou, for his 23rd birthday. 

Apparently, despite Jounouchi’s complete inability to watch anything even remotely scary without shrieking and/or whimpering throughout, the group had had fun. The decision had been made that they would do it again, as often as they could all get together and, somehow, the manor had become the venue.

Kaiba had to admit, it made a certain amount of sense. Between his technophilia and Mokuba’s cinephilia, they  _ did _ have the best home theatre system in Domino. Maybe even all of Japan. 

Which was how it came to be that the geek squad were now milling about in the den that housed said home theater system. 

Yugi and Ryou were making sure that there were enough pillows and blankets for everyone to be comfortable. Honda had already claimed one of the sofas and was futzing with his phone, texting the flavour of the week, and mostly ignoring everyone else. Otogi was running late, as usual, and Mokuba was procuring popcorn.

The final two members of the group were currently engaged in a heated debate near the door of the den.

"There are  _ rules _ , Jou," Anzu huffed, one hand on her hip, and looking very much the Karen.

"Which  _ you _ conveniently forgot about when you made us watch the entire goddamn Twilight saga," the blond was quick to point out.

"It was worth it!"

"Like hell it was. That's 11 hours of my life I'll never get back," he said, sounding like he was just barely holding back a scream. Then he mumbled, "Fucking shiny pretty boys."

"Sounds like a dream weekend for you," Kaiba said, from the doorway where he’d been watching.

Jou snorted derisively. But he didn't actually protest, merely huffing instead. “What are you doing here?”

“Last time I checked, I owned this place. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that a brainless stray like you is so easily confused.”

“Listen here, rich boy-” the blond started.

“Oh, pipe down, mutt. I’m not planning on joining your merry band of couch potatoes. I only came in here to retrieve my glasses.”

“You wear glasses?” Jou asked, a slight tremor in his voice that the blond hoped no one noticed.

The brunet  _ did _ notice, he noticed most things, but he didn’t know how to interpret it. Why the idea that he wore glasses, of all things, should cause any unsteadiness in Jounouchi’s voice, he couldn’t fathom.

So he simply said “yes,” and pushed past the others to pick up the glasses which had been lying on a table next to one of the overstuffed couches. "So what mediocre junk are you lot watching this time?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and fixing the group with an unimpressed glare.

"That's actually what they're fighting about," Mokuba said, walking in with a tray full of snacks and treats. "What’re you doing here, anyway? You never watch movies with us.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes and held up his glasses.

“Ah,” the younger Kaiba said. 

“Your  _ friend _ not joining the madness?” the brunet asked. He used the descriptor that Mokuba had chosen for his mysterious budding relationship, but emphasized it in such a way that it was clear that he, like everyone else in the room, knew it was a euphemism.

They all  _ knew  _ he was seeing someone, but he’d been sketchy on the details. Sketchy enough that no one knew  _ anything _ other than that they’d met at school. Which, presumably, meant they were another student.

The raven-haired teen shook his head. “Busy. Besides, we’ve already taken care of our White Day business.”

“That’s another point!” Anzu said, latching onto Mokuba’s words. “It’s White Day, we should be watching something more romantic.”

Jou huffed. “You got your romance bullshit on Valentine’s Day. And anyway, it’s  _ kinda _ romantic. There are romantic moments.”

“In what world-” she began, but was quickly cut off.

“Look, the only rules we have are that the total runtime of the movies can’t be more than 10 hours, and that the person whose turn it is to pick gets the final say,” the blond snapped. “This is under the runtime limit, and it’s  _ my _ turn to pick. So unless you have a real, valid objection, you’re just gonna have to go with it.”

She just groaned in frustration. “Ugh. Fine, you win.”

Jou grinned at that, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

“Let me guess,” Kaiba said, his tone taunting and condescending as ever. “You’ve selected some plotless action franchise. Gunfire and explosions everywhere, a hero with a ridiculous hairstyle, and loads of girls with their bits hanging out.”

The blond laughed, a short, sharp bark of a laugh that was simultaneously so perfectly  _ him _ and somehow not him at all. “Well, that just shows how much you know about me, rich boy. Or how little.”

“Whatever, fleabag. I have work to do,” he said, stalking towards the door.

“Can we please start the movie now? The rest of you losers might not have anything better to do, but I actually have plans later,” Honda said, speaking to someone other than his phone for the first time all day.

“Otogi’s not here yet,” Ryou said, always the polite and considerate one.

“Yeah, but he’s never here on time.” Mokuba pointed out with a sigh. “Let’s just start. He’ll either catch up when he gets here, or he won’t.”

“Right.” Yugi, who was sitting closest to the dimmer switch, turned the lights down low.

“I can’t  _ believe _ you’re making us sit through the entire Godfather trilogy,” Anzu griped, aiming the comment more at the room in general than at Jou himself. She grabbed a handful of gummies from the bowl on the table and flopped into an unoccupied armchair.. 

That off-handed comment made Kaiba stop in his tracks, though no one noticed him. He didn’t care much for movies. Not in the way that Mokuba did. But this particular franchise… He turned and walked silently back into the room.

“Come on, guys. They’re classics!” Jou was obviously far more excited about the films than the rest of them were.

There was a collective groan from the rest of the group, but no further arguments as Mokuba set the first film up.

The brunet cursed inwardly as he realised that there were only two open seats in the packed den. The nearest one was not an option, given that the sofa was currently full of excitable blond. That wasn’t something Kaiba wanted to deal with. The other was across the room, and he couldn’t get there without alerting the geek squad to his presence. He didn’t want to have to deal with the inevitable stares and questions. 

Instead, he leaned against the rear wall, directly behind the mutt’s sofa. He hoped that Jou would move to sit closer to his friends soon, so that he could take the blond’s seat.

The first strains of Nino Rota’s instantly recognizable score filled the room, and Kaiba was rapt. The den, the nerd herd, all of the work he was supposed to be doing, it all faded away. All that was left was that music, and the plaintive voice of Salvatore Corsitto.

The magic was broken half an hour later, when Otogi barrelled into the den. “Sorry I’m late, folks!” 

Jou shushed the raven-haired man, who merely shook his ass and blew the blond a sassy kiss as he walked by to take the seat next to Honda. 

“You know, if you actually  _ were _ sorry, you wouldn’t show up late every time,” Ryou whispered.

Otogi threw a pillow at him, which started a frenzied pillow war in that corner of the room.

“Oh, for fuck's sake,” Kaiba growled, unable to take any more. “If you’re not going to watch the movie, you can all get the fuck out.”

Jou jumped sky high, clutching his chest. “Jesus H. Christ! When the hell did  _ you _ get here?”

Mokuba sighed and paused the movie. “Alright guys, let’s take a break and get ourselves settled in again.”

Everyone shuffled around, trying to get comfortable again. Ryou and Anzu took the opportunity for a bio break. Honda slipped out into the hallway to make a mushy phone call, while Yugi and Otogi had a hushed discussion about respect.

Jou, however, was focused entirely on Kaiba despite his breathing not yet having returned to normal after the accidental jump scare. “I thought you weren’t gonna join us.”

“I changed my mind,” the brunet said with a shrug. “My house, my prerogative.”

“So, what? You’ve just been lurking in the shadows like Count Orlok this whole time?” His breath was still ragged. 

Kaiba raised an eyebrow at the Nosferatu reference, but said nothing.

“Why not sit down like a normal person?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, mutt, but there’s only one open seat.”

Jou looked around, picturing where everyone had been sitting. “Oh,” he said quietly when he realized where the open seat was.

There was a strange look on his face that Kaiba thought might have been mistaken for sadness or disappointment if he didn’t know the mutt better. Seeing as he  _ did _ know better, he was puzzled by the blond’s expression.

“Well, fuck. I guess I didn’t realise you hated me  _ that _ much,” Jou said.

Again there was that indecipherable quality to the mutt’s voice. The tremble that conveyed something Kaiba couldn’t quite grasp. 

“What?” 

“Nevermind. I’ll go sit on the floor. You can have the couch,” the blond said. “You should at least be able to sit down comfortably in your own home.”

The shorter man turned away, moving further into the den to collect some of the pillows that had been thrown about. 

“Jounouchi, wait-” Kaiba started. 

He paused in the building of his floor nest and looked at him with dull amber eyes. He looked tired. No, not tired, exactly. Weary. Worn-down.

“I don’t hate you. We can share the couch, if you want.”

“No, I’m good,” the blond said, his voice hollow now. “After all, isn’t the floor where mutts like me belong?” 

He turned away again and went back to arranging the pillows, his shoulders shaking ever so slightly. Anyone less observant than Kaiba would have missed it, but the brunet noticed  _ everything _ , even if he had no idea how to interpret it.

Kaiba heaved a deep sigh and sank onto the recently vacated couch where Jou had been sitting. It was still warm, and the brunet realized that he was unhappy with the outcome of their brief conversation. It wasn’t that he exactly  _ liked _ the blond, but he really  _ didn’t _ hate him either. Maybe he had once upon a time, but not now. 

There was no time to examine his feelings in any greater detail because the others had reassembled and, looking suitably chastised, were ready to continue the movie. 

Everyone was much better behaved, although Honda still had his phone in his hand as if it was superglued there. At least he had it on silent, and the screen wasn’t excessively bright. 

The film ended. Yugi brought the lights back up to full brightness. Mokuba grabbed the snack tray and went to replenish their supplies.

“Sorry, guys,” Honda said as he stood and stretched. “I’m gonna bail. Jun-chan wants to hang out.”

“Yeah, and you wanna get your dick wet.” Otogi said with a laugh that made the other man flush a deep pink. 

“Fuck you.” Honda flipped them all off as he hurried out of the room.

“Actually, I’m going to head out as well,” Anzu said.

“Seriously?” Jou whined. “I sat through your bullshit movies…”

She looked sheepish. “I’m sorry, Jou. I just can’t stomach this.”

“Seriously? You watched all of the Evil Dead, The Conjuring, Annabelle, even freaking Shaun of the Dead, and  _ this _ is the franchise you can’t stomach?”

The dancer shrugged.

“Yeah, fine. Whatever. Anyone else?” The blond’s voice still carried that peculiar tone, the one that matched his facial expression after his earlier conversation with Kaiba. 

Yugi stood. “Sorry,” he said, not meeting his friend’s eyes. “I’m on openers tomorrow, so I should probably go too.”

“Oh, I was hoping to be able to take you home,” Ryou said, not quite meeting Yugi’s eye, his usually pale cheeks a delicate pink.

Yugi blushed too. “I’m sorry. I’ll see you after work tomorrow, though.”

“Let me walk you out at least.”

They hurried out before the blond could make any further protests. With Honda, Anzu, and Yugi all gone, there was plenty of space for Jou to take a seat on the other couch or one of the armchairs. But he didn’t. He chose to stay on the floor, away from everyone.

They paused The Godfather Part II for a bio break when the major players got to Havana, and Otogi took his leave then, too. He made no excuse, just peaced out. The blond didn’t seem to care all that much about that, and Kaiba suspected that, even so many years on, the infamous dog suit incident had been forgiven but not forgotten. 

At the end of the second movie, Ryou left as well. Mokuba was fast asleep in his recliner, which meant it was just Jou and Kaiba now. It was late. There had been so much petty squabbling and so many breaks.

The shorter man stood with a heavy sigh and started to put the den back in order, replacing the pillows on the couches, and folding the blankets neatly. 

Kaiba nudged Mokuba awake and told him to go to bed. Then he started collecting the remnants of the snacks and treats that were scattered around the den.

“I’ll be going then,” the blond said, picking up his backpack from the corner and heading for the door. He spoke in a voice so quiet that Kaiba wasn’t sure he’d actually said anything at all.

He knew that Jounouchi usually spent the night after the movie marathons. Kaiba had gathered it was something to do with a curfew and being locked out if he stayed out too late. But maybe he was wrong about that. Maybe it was something else.

“You don’t have to,” the brunet said, although he wasn’t quite sure why he said it. 

“My friends bailed. Why stay? I can watch the last movie at home by myself.”

“I’m sorry your so-called friends are assholes,” Kaiba said. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. “But I’m going to watch Part III now, anyway. You may as well stay and watch it with me.”

Jou didn’t turn around. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, do you?”

And then he was gone, before Kaiba could ask what he meant by that.


End file.
